ISIL terrorists abduct nuns and Christian children in Iraq

As of June 28, there has been no further news concerning the fate of two Chaldean Catholic nuns and the three children in their company. Sisters Atur and Miskinta of the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate had returned to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from Dohuk with two girls and one Christian boy. So far, no one has been able to contact them via cell phone. According to the Chaldean Patriarchate, the two nuns and children were stopped by ISIL militants who, however, contend that the abducted Christians are in good health.

The two nuns manage an orphanage in Mosul near the headquarters of the Chaldean Catholic archdiocese headquarters. Before the ISIL began its campaign against the Iraqi government, the nuns and children took refuge in Dohuk, Kurdistan, and Mosul. According to the Fides news service, Sister LuiginaSako - the Superior of the Chaldean nuns - said "In all these terrible years for our country" said Sister LuiginaSako, Superior of the Chaldean Sisters, "Sisters Atur and Miskinta have done a great job, without ever abandoning Mosul and allowing the girls to study. We are extremely worried for them, especially for girls".

The situation in Mosul, which is mainly controlled by Sunni insurgents led by the militiamen of the ISIL who have installed their own base even in the seat of the Chaldean archbishopric, remains critical. The villages in the Nineveh Plain, such as Qaraqosh and Kramles, register the return of a part of the population that fled in recent days. However, there is no water and electricity and no services managed by public entities, such as transport and waste collection.